SunRisers Hyderabad have been riling Indian cricket fans since 2024. Not just in their results, but in the way they choose to play, they often stick to an ultra-aggressive approach, even when conditions suggest otherwise. Since the advent of the Impact Player rule, SRH have figured out that there is no point in scoring middle targets of 170-180 runs. You either go hell for leather and get above 230-240 or try to get fired.
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Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, SRH have learned at the start of 2024 that there is no point in playing it safe. The think tank knew that in an era of eight specialist batsmen in the team line-up, even a competitive total of 190 runs was not enough. So, in most of the matches played in the last two seasons, SRH tried to go all out and target a mega total regardless of the conditions.
And he may have had a good reason for it. A simple reflection of the previous season shows that SRH scored between 140-190 runs while batting first in five matches; they lost them all. The only games SRH have won when batting first came when they scored more than 230 runs. The pattern was hard to ignore.
However, what angered the fans was their batting approach on pitches that were obviously tricky in nature. When the wickets clearly did not look suitable for high totals, SRH continued with their hammer and tongs method. Unsurprisingly, their method backfired and the team was either bowled out or restricted to 120-165 runs last season – all matches they lost.
But bullish SRH stuck to their process. Pat Cummins and head coach Daniel Vettori were hell-bent on implementing their philosophy and chasing the almost unattainable 250 mark every game. It meant that after winning their opening match, SRH had lost four on the trot to get back to where they were at the start of last season.
But the thing about anger baiting is that it only works for so long. And the SunRisers realized this deep into the season when they were pushed into a do-or-die situation – where they finally had to adapt.
SRH woke up from their slumber very late and played their last four games with more sensitivity and won the last three. They would win by four on the trot, but their home game against Delhi Capitals was washed away by rain when SRH needed just 134 runs to win the contest.
This late correction is what makes this season interesting.
Will this season be different? Will the SunRisers peak at the right time this season?
Led by Ishan Kishan, who has been handed the mantle of leadership in the absence of Pat Cummins, SRH have definitely lacked a killer atmosphere this season. Kishan, who has been happy-go-lucky since his Mumbai Indians days, has led well as Jharkhand’s captain in the domestic season, but his ability to remain calm under pressure in tough situations is still unproven.
When the mantle of leadership is inexperienced, the team will only survive if they rally around each other and bring out the best in each other. Which means that the key to the team doing well only falls on the squad that SRH have fielded this season and how well they respond to situations where plan A inevitably fails.
A team that was built on a rather unique, borderline weird auction strategy.
SRH’S MISSING IN IPL AUCTION
The Kaviya Maran franchise entered the auction pool with a decent budget of Rs 25.50 crore. Targets in mind – An elite fast bowler, a raider and a couple of Indian middle-order additions who could provide some batting backup to the team.
The team lost four key bids in the auction last season: Auqib Nabi, Ravi Bishnoi, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer.
The first to slip out of SRH’s hands was Bishnoi. SRH’s final bid for Bishnoi was Rs 7 crore. The spinner was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 7.20 crore.
Auqib Nabi was next. SRH bid 16 times for the pacer, finally letting in Rs 8.20 crore. Nabi was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 8.40 crore.
Indian uncapped stars Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma were next, both going to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 14.20 crore – a record amount for an uncapped Indian. SRH’s final bid for both? 14 crores of Rs.
With their favored players out of hand, SRH resorted to Plan B which was to buy players they scouted or players who performed well in their nets.
This meant that SRH bought players like Krains Fuletra, Shivang Kumar – also known as Madhya Pradesh’s Noor Ahmad – Shivam Mavi and Praful Hinge in their squad.
This freed up the budget to get an overseas all-rounder, where they spent money on Liam Livingstone (Rs 13 crore), which was perhaps a questionable choice.
But what did shopping solve?
Probably not much, lol. This only means that SRH will have to trust their uncapped stars to pull their weight in this edition of the competition. If the signings spring a surprise, SRH will be a force to reckon with in the first half of the season.
But if they don’t click, which happens more often in top-tier cricket, SRH will have a miserable time this season.
SRH FULL SQUAD
Retained players: Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins, Smaran Ravichandaran, Travis Head, Zeeshan
Auction purchases: Salil Arora (Rs 1.50), Shivang Kumar (Rs 30 lakh), Liam Livingstone (Rs 13 cr), Jack Edwards (Rs 3 cr)*, Amit Kumar (Rs 30 lakh), Krains Fuletra (Rs 30 lakh), Sakib Hussain (Rs 30 lakh), Prah Prah lak Pant (Rs 30 crore), Shivam Mavi (Rs 75 crore)
*Jack Edwards replaced by David Payne for Rs 1.5 million
SRH PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
The army of uncapped stars will certainly be a group to watch out for at SunRisers Hyderabad this season. The likes of Harsh Dubey and Aniket Verma have played in the past and will be more familiar with the team’s dealings.
Smaran Ravichandran has had a strong innings with Karnataka this season and is tipped to be another prolific run-scorer in the middle overs. He is an all-format talent and could give him a try in the lineup if someone like Aniket Verma is unable to feature this season.
Krains Fuletra outwitted Heinrich Klaasen as netminder last season. The batter was so impressed that SRH bought Fuletra in the 2026 auction.
Salil Arora, batting in SRH’s practice game, smashed five sixes in five balls. The right-hander is a middle-order batsman with a penchant for big shots.
But it’s possible he remains an Impact Player option at best.
And that brings us to the problem SRH have – if Salil Arora can hit five consecutive sixes without a cap, one wonders what the rest of the world-class batting teams will do with SunRisers Hyderabad’s bowling this season?
PAT CUMMINS: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
And that means we have to talk about the elephant in the room that we’ve been avoiding for so long.
Is captain Pat Cummins, the person SRH has rallied around in the last two seasons, even fit to play?
Cummins missed a large part of the team’s pre-season training and confirmed that he will not be able to play until at least halfway through the IPL.
This means that SRH will be missing a lot of experience in the bowling unit. And the existing options in Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel and Shivam Mavi are very unlikely to fill that hole.
Which means someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy in SRH from 2023 will have to step up and take some responsibility. He picked up a hat-trick in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but his bowling credentials remain questionable at the IPL level.
So, where does this bring us?
For rage baits, of course. SRH must either reach 240 runs or risk losing the game. That’s all. That perhaps sums up the expectations from SRH this season.
SRH Probable XI:
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (c, wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Brydon Carse/Ehsan Malinga, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi/Jaydev Unadkat
Impact Players: Salil Arora or Krains Fuletra
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– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
27 March 2026 17:27 IST
